My father was a collector of antique tools, alongside my mother’s collection of antique kitchen utensils. I love both types of tools for their often quirky, try to figure out what they initially are for, yet always quality craftsmanship.
Antique Tools for the Workshop
My Dad’s collection of antique tools had a lot of iron amongst it, heavy black with wood handles. He showcased many of the older ones on a wall in his workshop. I loved looking at that wall. Some were fairly obvious, wrenches and hand drills, but some I still don’t have an idea to this day what they did.
And I have become a collector of old tools, in consequence. However, I prefer to use them. Or sell them in My Shop. And this includes both workshop tools as well as kitchen tools. The wonder of antique tools, is often they can used in both workshop and kitchen. How is that for a multi-purpose tool?
Ask an Expert
In the anticipated restoration of my new (old) home, I amassed a collection of old hand tools. I admit I am not yet an expert in old tool usage, but I do love to learn.
Now if you are into old tools, and using them, and haven’t discovered Paul Sellers, you are in for a treat. He will use old wooden plains, hand drills and choose from a large collection of now finely tuned hand saws. His tutorials are a must when it comes to how to use old tools.
You Can’t Beat Craftsmanship
It’s my understanding that the reason many people now use newer, let alone powered tools, is supposedly they are easier, but also lighter. However, there is definitely a reason why antique tools are still around. They are pure quality craftsmanship. Antique tools are easy to repair (comparatively), easy to maintain and most of all were made to last. Hence why they are still found relatively easily today.
Don’t get me wrong, I still have power tools in my workshop. This past year I bought a hand held jigsaw so I could cut into my backdoor for a cat flap, a drill/screwdriver for drilling into walls for hooks, etc. This latter is my favourite tool, that one utensil I wouldn’t do without in a workshop, as I love that it multi-tasks. (Yup, I am such a girl.) What’s not to like about something that lets me screw together duck enclosure doors, whilst also offering me the opportunity to drill into walls and hang pictures.
A sander is my most recent purchase from my Wish List to complete the triumvirate of electric tools. I do have hand sanders, but wanted an electric one for my oak kitchen countertops, and for when it comes time to restore my oak flooring. But if needs must, of course, I can also do sanding by hand.
Antique Tools for the Kitchen
On the flip side, like my Mum I love antique kitchen tools. She had a vast collection. Slowly, over the years she has been passing them along to me. (Lucky me!) Some I keep, some I sell in My Shop (per the suggestion of my Mum).
Like my Dad’s antique tools, some I have no idea what they do. I love researching these tools, looking to find something similar, some clue to what their use is. It’s rather like being a detective. So many of the kitchen tools are definitely one-offs, e.g. someone had a bright idea and had a go.
A number of the tools I have are ‘patent pending’. When you look at them, let alone when I try to use them, you realise that though a lot of thought went into its design they ended up not being very practical. Or someone improved on the design and made it easier to use.
Buying Quality
So, if you are like me, you like antique tools or have someone in your life who has a workshop, please do check out my section on Antique Tools. And if you are like me, and like your antique kitchen tools, I also offer some of these in my Cooking & Kitchen Gadgets.
Here’s a taste of some Vintage and Antique Kitchen Tools. (Can you guess what each tool does?)
(Simply click on the the image of any vintage or antique tool you like to connect to similar items in my shop.)
If you enjoy my writings on various quirky things I find and research, you will find other posts in my Niche and Novelties posts. And you can nourish my writings, if so inclined, by checking out my Nourishing Pumpjack & Piddlewick page.